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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Hey guys!

Just wanted to post a heads up, letting anyone who reads my little blog that I have not fallen off the face of the earth. I apologize for the serious lack of posts! I am currently right in the middle of the busy season for my small indie biz & have several holiday events that I am preparing for. I inadvertently got too busy to keep up with posting. My apologies! I do have a TON of swatches ready for editing & posting, hopefully by this weekend (including the new collection of Takko Lacquer!!!). So hang tight & the polish goodness will return very, very soon!

Friday, October 19, 2012

Good morning! Today is the third and final part of the Zoya Ornate Collection! Last, we have the controversial Bar Glitter polish!

Many polish lovers, in the community, are not fans of bar glitter, me being one of them. It has a tendency to look "hairy" on the nail, & I quite agree. So much so, that I don't own any bar glitter polishes, except for this one.

Zoya - Electra

Electra is an insanely holographic bar glitter in a clear base. 3 coats for full coverage. I did have a little problem with drag but I totally blame it on the glitter. Other than that, formula was fine. As for looks, I don't hate it, but I don't love it either. I do like the rainbow holo & the holiday tinsel effect, but it's not something I would wear or immediately reach for. It might be a fun look for a NYE party, but I would choose Aurora over Electra if I was going for a "wow" factor.

Here is Electra swatched over the other colors.

Electra over Aurora

Electra over Blaze

Electra over Storm

Electra over Ziv

Electra over Logan

In the end, it's all a matter of personal preference. If you like bar glitter and all things sparkly, then Electra is right up you alley!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Good morning! We're back with the second part of the Zoya Ornate Collection, featuring foil finishes!

Yesterday's post featured the Holo finishes, and yes they are amazing, but don't discount these two gorgeous foil polishes. In my opinion, Zoya is the master at creating foils. I have quite a few of them and each one is just as beautiful and shiny as the next.

Same as last time, pics first & formula write up at the end!

Zoya - Ziv

Ziv is a bright gold foil with deep golden flecks scattered through out. It reminds me so much of golden foil wrapping paper! It dries so shiny and reflective. Sigh...this is why I love foil so much.

Zoya - Logan

Logan is a cool dark green with bright green and golden foil flecks through out. This one is a bit of a chameleon. It can look very dark and dramatic with serious blue tones, and then it can shift to a bright warm golden green.

Formula, again was perfect. It almost seems like an improvement from previous foils, even. 2 coats, slightly longer dry time than the holos, but still good. Shiny, smooth and glossy, no top coat needed. Ziv is for sure, my choice because it is such a great color for the holidays, but Logan is just as beautiful.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Let me start by saying, I am a huge Zoya fan girl, and I pretty much get all giddy when they release a new collection. When I first spied the promo pics for the winter 2012 collection a.k.a. Zoya Ornate, I almost died from bliss. Not only did it contain a couple of foils (which Zoya is the foil master), but ::gasp:: holos, too!?!?! I had such high hopes for the holo finishes & they did not disappoint! Usually, I get a huge let down with a scattered holo polish, because most of the time, they are really gritty & adding a top coat kills the holo effect. But I knew, that if anybody was going to win me over, it would be Zoya.

The whole collection, overall, is nothing short of amazing, & I may have went a little bananas with swatch pics. So, in order to prevent a huge photo heavy post, I decided to break the collection up into three posts, one for each finish (holo, foil & holo bar glitter).

First up is the Holo finish polishes, since I know this is what everyone wants to see! Formula wise, they are all pretty much the same, so I'll post that at the end.

Zoya - Aurora

Aurora is a rich plum purple cream/jelly hybrid (now known as a crelly) loaded with holographic flecks. The flecks lie flat to create a smooth surface, no gritty or bumpy texture. The holo effect is pure magic, almost linear in low lighting. I haven't had a chance to see in in sunlight, it has been cloudy & rainy all day.

Zoya - Blaze

Blaze is a deep cool toned cranberry red crelly. The holo effect isn't as strong as with Aurora, but it is still breathtaking. The red pigmentation brings out a unique twinkle, showing purple, red, pink and golden hues in the holo fleck. The depth is amazing and the overall look is very chic.

Zoya - Storm

Storm is a black crelly with holo fleck. Again the holo isn't as strong, or as dense as Aurora. Instead it has a chunkier feel and almost looks like stars. I would love to see this one used as a base for a galaxy nail!

Flawless formula for all three. I used 2 coats for all the swatches, and had no problem getting perfect coverage. I do apply my second coat a little thick out of habit, so it may be up to your individual application. Other bloggers have done well with three coats. They all dried very quickly and glassy smooth with a great shine. I love all three, but if I had to choose, my pick would be Aurora. It stands out as the most unique & a definite for any polish lover.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

On any given day, I will have something bright and sparkly painted on my nails, but some days, a toned down mani feels a bit more stylish. Since I swatched the Nails Inc Neutral Collection, I haven't really felt like wearing any of the shades. Today, I felt a bit mellow and decided to grab a bottle.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Good morning fellow lacquer heads! I broke down this weekend and bought two polishes from the China Glaze Wicked Collection. I was trying so hard to resist, but alas I have little self control when it comes to nail polish. I think my "no buy" lasted maybe a week. Ooops.

Out of the whole collection, the two that stood out the most were Cast a Spell and Make a Spectacle. I almost picked up Immortal, but in person, it wasn't as pretty as I expected.

China Glaze - Cast a Spell

Cast a Spell is a greenish black with gold, green & orange glass fleck shimmer. I wasn't planning on getting this one, but the shimmer is really eye catching. In my opinion, this is the perfect shade for Halloween. Formula was great, as all China Glaze polishes are. Thick, but smooth and flowy. I had to do 2 coats, but if you are careful with application, you could easily get away with just 1. Good dry time too.

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China Glaze - Make a Spectacle

Make a Spectacle is a top coat polish with a clear shimmer base with iridescent hex glitter. When I saw the promo bottle shots, I knew I had to have it. For a glitter top coat, it has a great formula, no dragging or clumping, the glitter flows nice and even. Dry time is good, but a little on the gritty side, not too bad, but if you like a smooth feel, be sure to add a top coat.

China Glaze - Cast a Spell with Make a Spectacle on accent finger

Layering the two is the best part!The sparkle and shimmer, together, is awesome.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Happy Saturday! Today, I have another color from the Sally Hansen Lustre Shine collection - Scarab.

Sally Hansen Lustre Shine - Scarab

Scarab is a gorgeous, shiny teal duo chrome that shifts to blue (think China Glaze Deviant Darling). The color flash isn't as dramatic as Firefly, but it is still very pretty to look at.

Formula is the same as the others, thick, longer dry time, 2 coats for full coverage. It did seem a bit thicker than the rest, and I also had a bit of bubbling, but I wasn't really patient with my coats.

Still love it, despite the flaws, but I'm not as blown away by this one as the other three I've purchased. I'm still debating on whether or not to pick up Plume since it is a Peridot dupe (& I already have OPI Just Spotted the Lizard, another dupe), but all the swatches show it to have a bit stronger golden base. I don't know, guess we will have to wait & see! I also have yet to find the two mysterious colors rumored to be part of this collection - Azure, a dark shimmery blue, and the unnamed purple that was seen in promo pics. I will keep an eye out though!

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Sometimes you have an idea for a mani that is too awesome for words. The idea may be much better in your mind than the actual representation, but by chance, it turns out much more amazing. This is hwat happened when I layered Sally Hansen Lustre Shine Lava over Nails Inc Baker St.

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Sally Hansen Lustre Shine Lava over Nails Inc Baker St

Gah, it looks like fire! I knew the incredible pigmentation of Baker St would contrast really well again the glowy color shift of Lava, but I wasn't prepared for this! Technically, it's not a great job. Lava is ridiculously hard to sponge & wouldn't cooperate at all. In fact, it got very clumpy & I totally overcompensated. : /

Regardless of the application fail, I am in love with these two polishes together! The contrast is just too good!

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Since acquiring Lava and Copperhead from the gorgeous multi chrome Lustre Shine collection from Sally Hansen, I have had some serious lemmings for the rest of the colors. Technically I'm on a "no buy" (despite having purchased the entire Zoya Ornate collection & a few bottle of Klean Color off of ebay), but I can't help myself with these lovelies. I am totally smitten with Firefly!

Sally Hansen - Firefly

Firefly is a gorgeous rosy gold multi chrome that shifts from green to yellow gold to orange to pink. The color flash is incredibly amazing. I tried very hard to capture all the different shifts, but the pictures cannot even come close to showing how strong they are. Sally Hansen really does know how to do a good duo chrome polish!

Formula was about the same as Copperhead. If you missed that post, the polish is on the thicker side with a longer dry time. 2 coats for full coverage.